Sidney’s Game Guide – Stormborn

Ok, well that end was brutal…it was so so so brutal and hard. In some ways, however, this is a mercy kill for the Sand Snakes. They have been wasted since they were introduced it seems and full potential never reached. Yara Greyjoy was a hard loss. Despite the ending, I’m not convinced Ellaria and Yara are dead. Ellaria is probably the gift to Cersei so Cersei can take vengeance for her daughter. I know the inclination is to be pissed at Theon, but honestly, think of what he’s been through, would you wanna go through that, again? The actor who played Euron is the MVP of the episode. He really has done an amazing job of really establishing the character as someone who should be feared. A tremendously done scene.

Dany’s small council was really awesome. Hearing the plan unfold was really cool because it’s so well laid out. Now we’ll see how it’s amended considering what went down in the end, but her getting the advice from Olenna, it was amazingly chilling. Lady Olenna is an great character for a lot of reasons but because she has this cool power to be able to tear through the logic that the show creates naturally, and in a way, reset when need be.

Lasty, Grey Worm and Missandei….<3 <3 <3

The Good Stuff

Dany is finally, finally, getting the memo here….well slow learner, but en route. Dany had two scenes this episode. The stronger was with Varys. Yes too much exposition is typically bad but reviewing all this does and reframing it does help make Dany stronger as a character. The downside is, her question of loyalty kinda made her seem like the Trump. Regardless, Emilia Clarke might be the most comfortable in her character as anyone else. The scene with Melisandre was great because it’s bringing together new pieces on the board that are gonna have some interesting consequences.

Cersei in the Dragon Tomb was cool because it’s always nice to have a scene that paints a history that these characters live and add too.

Arya had two important scenes of discovery, and maybe a bit of the story looking forward. First she finds out her brother is in Winterfell she turns back to head to her home and along the way she finds her old direwolf, Nymeria. Nymeria spares Arya, who tries to convince to come home with her, but Nymeria doesn’t return with her. Is the show trying to tell us that while going home might sound good, Nymeria isn’t the same wolf she was when she was last in Winterfell, and neither is Arya. Should Arya have turned the other way too? Should also be noted, Nymeria (the wolf) left Arya, and her namesake died in the end of the episode. Could there have been a foreshadowing to two tales and will they both have sad endings?

Meh

The stuff in Winterfell was ok. My issue with it is, just like Jon pointed out: He never wanted to be king, so Sansa being upset it wasn’t her is her own fault. She coulda had it and now, it was given to her cause Jon is heading to meet Cousin Dany. She shoulda just had it to begin with.

Jamie is such a good character but the way the use him, start and stop, is annoying. He’s already a character that’s hard to read, season 7, we should be focusing on starting to see where he’s going.

Sam, the King of the Meh, ok, it’s kinda harsh putting him here but honestly he’s still doing the same thing he always does. In fairness to the story he is getting somewhere but considering how far he is from everyone and that he’s basically gotten the info he needed to Jon, what else is he gonna do? Also, the scene with Jorah, gross. I get it, but gross.

Stormborn, in summation:

“All that dragonglass and they don’t have windows. Varys took his time crossing The Narrow Sea to work on his tan. Melisandre has been spewing some sexist prophecies. Harold Ziegler has a unique backstory. To be fair Dany, we’re all still pretty sore about Oberyn. We might need to work on his humble brag but name a cuter couple other than Grey Worm and Missandei, go ahead I’ll wait. Arya’s kind of a bitch to Hot Pie. We all wanted Jon to beat the shit out of Littlefinger. *inaudible crying*”

In tonight’s episode we were reminded of the problem with ever feeling comfortable in Game of Thrones. With only a handful of episodes left, it seems like we should expect a faster pace.